


bright side of a bad idea

by Zebooboo



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Ficlet Collection, M/M, Microfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:27:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 43
Words: 2,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23283244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zebooboo/pseuds/Zebooboo
Summary: Collection of cleaned up microfics from twitter prompts for Shin/Drifter.
Relationships: The Drifter/Shin Malphur
Kudos: 40





	1. dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> s/d - dream

Drifter wakes gasping and in his mind he can still see Shin's empty smile and the gun between his eyes, flames licking his skin. Only the gun's all wrong and there's shadows in Shin's eyes and when Drifter's gone up in flames, his whispers linger. Shin sleeps on next to him.


	2. glass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vale/Drifter - glass

It's been years, decades even, since Vale last saw Hope. He's frozen, looking at his back while he strips the ship down.

When Hope turns around, introduces himself as a drifter, it feels like glass is cutting into his chest.

Wants to say, you didn't have to leave, you belonged.


	3. morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - morning

It wasn't often Shin woke up before Drifter. He relished those times, the quiet, unhurried breathing against his neck, fingers curled over Drifter's neck to count his heartbeat. 

He peppered feather light kisses over Drifter, like he never could when the man was awake. He ached.


	4. unforeseen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Germaine/Shin - unforeseen

It was the same mouth, the same teeth, the same hands running over his skin. Lighting the same fire in him, the need and the urgency and the want to drown in him. What Shin didn't expect was to see the same feelings reflected in Germaine's eyes. Out of time and out of place.


	5. wish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - wish

At times he slithers in people's dreams and others where he whispers their desires in their ears to tempt with wishes. 

It's not often that he lays with them in beds or curls over their shoulders, form everchanging like water. 

But Shin makes him want a little wish for himself.


	6. cold hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - cold hands

The one time Shin touched him with cold hands, Drifter wanted to wretch. It wasn't the cold that bothered him. Not anymore.

What did was that it leached off his Light like it was nothing. Like it was a right, a privilege. When his own hands turned freezing, Shin choked.


	7. quiet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - quiet

There's a lull in activity halfway in the day. Normally Drifter pulls up something to work on. Instead the gate is closed and he munches on takeout, feet in Shin's lap with the man snoozing away. 

He leans in to smooth back dark hair, touches dark circles. Goes back to eating.


	8. tense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - tense

Drifter's back is a mess of bunched muscles and tight nerves and when Shin digs his fingers in Drifter hisses. 

He puts his knee on Drifter's waist to keep him still. "You're not running from this." And he presses his knuckles into the tense shoulders, he'll straighten them out.


	9. grip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - grip

The stone crumbles beneath his feet and Drifter is falling. In the Ascendant Realm, falling is worse than dying. You plummet, wind howling like a broken instrument in your ears and you might never find a bottom. 

His stomach bounces in his belly when Shin catches him, eyes wild.


	10. intimate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - intimate

Shin holds Drifter's hand like it's made of glass. Firmly, but gently. It makes Drifter choke on a broken feeling he'd forgotten he had. Doesn't move either, no petting, no kissing, no squeezing. Just a simple hold. 

Drifter can't bring himself to look him in the eye yet.


	11. future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - future

"There's no turning this boat 'round." 

"You can never be sure." 

"Brother, I'm not just sure, I know." 

"One would think you're stalling on leaving. "

"Am I?" 

"You still got hope." 

"Shake your head, maybe something's loose in there." 

"Maybe, but I don't think so." 

"Keep dreamin'."


	12. smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - smile

It was brazen and loud and completely unexpected and Drifter stood there like an idiot, staring at Shin. And when that smile turned to him, still open, still full of mirth, he turned around and left, face flushed. 

He didn't hear Shin leave after him.


	13. quiver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - quiver

It's satisfaction, deep and sating, that Shin feels when Drifter doesn't quiver at his touch anymore. His hand softens, turns exploratory down Drifter's relaxed back as they lay down, tired, drained. 

Drifter hums and Shin grins, knows he's almost asleep to be making the sound.


	14. downtime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - downtime

One night, after the last match ended and all players left the Derelict, Drifter watched as Shin pulled off his heavier armor pieces and flopped over the railing. He landed on a patch of snow with a content sigh and steam rising. 

"You good hotshot?" 

"Mm, I'm on a break."


	15. tense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - tense

The twang of the taut string is loud and Shin plucks it again, waiting in the empty Annex. He wonders how enraged Drifter will be when he comes back to Shin lazing about with Hush in his hands, how annoyed with Shin he'll be for messing with his stuff.

He smiles fondly.


	16. confidence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - confidence

Drifter follows the confident swagger of Shin's hips as he walks down to the transmat pads. He shakes himself when the Hunter stops and leans on the railing, waiting for the teams to arrive. 

He swallows and looks away. If Shin catches him looking he'll never live it down.


	17. soft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - soft

There are moments between matches, stolen, fleeting, where Drifter relaxes. The rhythm of the day having seeped into them; fight, commentate, win, breathe, go back in. 

The kiss Shin steals each time he switches sides on the transmat pads sneaks in unnoticed and he savours it.


	18. limit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - limit

Drifter’s fingers on his neck hold Shin face down in the mattress, breath getting choked out of him with every thrust of Drifter’s hips, and lost.

He feels lightheaded, on the verge of release and he has no strength to speak.

His eyes roll into his skull before Drifter finishes.


	19. taste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - taste

Shin’s tongue tastes like those fruity drinks from a high end club and Drifter almost forgets the man came in with those chocolates of Shaxx’s.

Forgets he spiked them with whatever he could find before Shin came back with takeout.

He leans in for a better taste.


	20. panic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - panic

His heart is in his throat before Drifter even knows why Shin is alone in the Haul. He finds him sitting at the bridge, fully formed, far away arena never opening.

He steps on a carpet of Light Orbs as he moves closer. Shin looks haunted, tired and Drifter sits quietly with him.


	21. revere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - revere

Drifter saw Thorn exactly once in Shin’s hands. His hackles rose immediately, lip curling back.

He despised the way Shin held it, like it belonged in his hand, like it was a part of him, cherished and dear.

When Shin’d noticed him, he’d looked so sad Drifter wanted to kill him.


	22. glance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - glance

Shin catches Drifter looking before he takes the plunge to the Haul. He can see the marks he left on the man's neck, stark on the pale skin. 

But his eyes look hollowed, resigned. Tired. He wants to dip his fingers inside, pluck them out like candy. Kiss the blood off his cheeks.


	23. warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - warning

Thorn is cold in his hand. All consuming, all devouring. Hostile like it's never been before. Shin's Light dims, trying to crawl deeper into him. 

It takes Drifter's hand wrapping around his wrist for him to let go. His brows are pinched and Shin realises they're both shaking.


	24. scorch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - scorch

The fingers around Drifter's neck are hot, burning, branding him and he feels like if he opens his mouth smoke will pour out. 

Instead Shin steals what breath he has left in a kiss. His lungs ache and his head is spinning. He passes out with Shin's teeth on his lips.


	25. nimble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - nimble

Drifter pushes and pushes, until his chest is flush with Shin's and the man's knees are beside their heads. 

He grins against Shin's lips, bites down and thrusts roughly. The keen he draws out of the man stokes the fire in his belly, the urgency in his mind. He chases the sound.


	26. fighting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - fighting

Shin's fingers dig in Drifter's throat, blood running down his hand. He can feel the man fight for breath, feel the knife slide between his ribs when Drifter tries to fight him off. 

He revels when the man goes limp, eyes going dim. He pulls his fingers away and they start over.


	27. bait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - bait

Drifter punches him when he sees Shin again. Doesn't wait for any big reveal or any placating words or pretty lies. Just punches and keeps hitting until Shin grabs his wrists, kicks his feet from under him, nose broken and lip bleeding. 

He sneers up, "Fine cut of bait, huh?"


	28. inverted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drifter/Shin - inverted

Shin shivers as he pulls the trigger, splattering blood in the snow. Either him or them. Either him or them. He bolts up and Eli is holding a Golden Gun at his head. He jerks awake in the Derelict, alone. 

Eli left for his own ship ages ago, sheets cold. The cold lingers still.


	29. burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - burn

Once, Drifter got drunk before one of Shin's visits and he tried to fight fire with fire. Shin had come to him with blood on his face and heat to his touch and Drifter wanted him to burn. 

So he wrapped flaming fingers round Shin's neck, branded him and Shin leaned in for more.


	30. wary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shin/Drifter - wary

Drifter eyes Shin nervously, the man is drunk but not on alcohol. He trails shadows, long and dark, and his eyes are like dead things. 

He catches a pale wrist and shivers at the cold. It eats at him and Shin seems to break, puts his head on Drifter's chest and closes his eyes.


	31. swelter

Shin was sitting on the cot, tapping on a handheld and getting increasingly irritated. Drifter wanted to drop his schematics and get the hell out. 

He wiped his sweating forehead and got up, threw open the crate's door. The frigid cold did little to smother Shin's Light.


	32. flowers

Drifter hears rumours of the Black Garden from Guardians. Beautiful, expansive, flowers in bloom. It just reminds him that the Darkness is just getting closer and closer. 

So when Shin comes back with flowers dripping radiolaria he snatches them, burns them. Shin says nothing.


	33. steadfast

It's in the middle of the night when Drifter snaps awake from a nightmare of ice and biting cold. He swallows, tenses when Shin moves in his sleep, pulling him closer and Drifter moves along, laying his head on Shin's chest. He hates it, but Shin's steady heartbeat slowly lulls him back to sleep.


	34. hands

"That's not how you hold a cannon." Drifter sucks in breaths like a dying man, barely hearing Shin's criticism as he takes off his Shadow guise. He sees the moment Vale fades back into an exhausted Shin, in his step as he moves behind Drifter.

His hand slots over his on the handle, his chest against Drifter's shivering back. "Let me show you a trick." He sounds tired, distracted and his breath tickles Drifter's ear. Both their hands are cold, doesn't stop the flush from creeping up his neck.


	35. scratch

Shin hisses and Drifter swats his grasping hand away from his bleeding side. A Taken Captain had caught Shin unawares in the last match and he's too stubborn to let his Ghost heal it. But Drifter wants him on the field and he's being a baby "It's just a scratch, stop squirming."


	36. trail

Shin tracks Drifter across the Tangled Shore like a hound. Head to the ground and finger on the trigger. There's a feeling of urgency he hasn't felt in a long time, pushing him along and he puts fires in Hive nests until he hears Wizards scream. His comm crackles. "You're late."


	37. fetch

If Drifter were to describe Orsa on the job, he'd say fetching. If it were Vale, he'd say ruthless. Maybe dark and moody, hella intimidating. Then Shin walks in for Gambit and Drifter can't keep his eyes off. Shin walks out of Gambit and he can't keep his hands off either. Fuck.


	38. limit + release

Shin walks in the Annex snarling and punches Drifter hard enough for the man to stagger back with a broken and bloody nose. 

He kicks him to the ground before he can open his mouth, pinning him with his knees and wraps his fingers around Drifter's throat. "Toying thin lines, are we?"

Drifter snarls with bloody teeth and chokes as the air leaves his lungs. "Thought it was...up your alley...hypocrite." 

He can see Shin's eyes darken and his scowl pull until he sees pearly teeth. He's about to pass out when his throat is released. 

"If they die...you're done."


	39. choke

Shin is so, so careful to not wake Drifter. Touch feather-light and carefully only as warm as the skin he touches. 

He trails fingers over Drifter's throat, presses against the artery, into the dip of the collarbone. 

He wonders how Drifter would look at him if he woke choking.


	40. ice

The first time Drifter pulled ice from the Dark, Shin felt his stomach drop. The cold made the blood running down his neck freeze but the whispers just urged him to get [closer inside carve him open so he can crawl inside claim some of the hopehopehope-]

Drifter's grin was sharp enough to cut him to a thousand pieces when he realised who'd sneaked in the Derelict. Shin leaned in to be broken on those teeth.


	41. insufferable

Drifter chokes on the gag in his mouth, twists his hands in Shin's vice grip and tries desperately to not let his knees shake when Shin thursts in him. 

The Hunter bites his neck, leaving bloody marks and bruises to whisper in his ear. 

"Can't stand to not annoy me, can you?"


	42. tension

Shin slips into the Annex easily, among the crowd vying for a turn at the Recaster. He's ignored by all, even with Drifter tensing at his entrance. He's not here for a social visit, but he can't resist tapping his fingers against Drifter's, seeing the man ready to snap at him.


	43. besotted

Drifter sleeps finally. Shin sags into the small cot, legs tangled and covers haphazardly tossed over them. Finally he sleeps and the bags under his eyes seem puffier for it. Shin traces a gentle thumb over them, mind abuzz with thoughts of Dark, Light and Drifter in the middle.


End file.
